12 Days
by Wraith Ink-Slinger
Summary: The 12 Days of Criminal Minds.  A oneshot every day until Christmas.  Happy Holidays, everyone!
1. Decorating Disaster

12 Days

A/N: Hello, everyone! Welcome to _Wraith Ink-Slinger's 12 Days of Criminal Minds_! I will have a holiday-themed oneshot up for all of you every day, starting today (December 14th, that is) and ending on December 25th- Christmas, of course! This is just a collection of oneshots which are not connected in any way unless otherwise indicated. I really hope you guys enjoy this collection, no matter how you celebrate the winter solstice!

Oh, plus, JJ will be in all of these because I think it will be much happier with her there.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, Christmas, or the "12 Days of Christmas".

-/\-

Day 1: Decorating Disaster

When Emily Prentiss walked into the bullpen the morning of December first, her line of sight was assaulted with a small Christmas explosion. Someone had been very busy decorating yesterday evening…

Garlands were hung around the perimeter of all the desks and wrapped around the railing of the catwalk, wreaths adorned every visible office door, paper snowflakes dangled from various points around the room and anything vaguely resembling a pole had been wrapped in red ribbon to look candy-striped. Ribbon and wreaths hung on the walls close to the ceiling and, Emily noted as she was already looking up, there was an odd lack of mistletoe.

There was also an odd lack of her colleagues. Hotch, Rossi and JJ already appeared to be in their respective offices, but Morgan and Reid were nowhere to be seen. There was no telling if Garcia had yet arrived. A quick peek into the break room showed it had received the same decoration treatment, but did not give Emily any clues as to where her two, possibly three, unusually late coworkers were. Then, just as Emily decided to shrug it off and sit down at her desk, one mystery was solved and another, much more interesting, one opened up. "So has this helped make up for yesterday's debacle?" Garcia could be heard as she neared the bullpen.

"Yes, but I believe we each have one more favor stored." Reid's voice followed the feisty tech's.

"What do you mean? I gave you guys a ride, we stopped for coffee… how many favors are you going to call in, here?"

"Three each." Morgan replied.

"Exactly- one for each injury suffered per person." Reid said.

Emily's eyebrows went up as Garcia, Morgan and Reid finally came within view of her desk. "What happened to you guys?" She gasped, looking Morgan and Reid up and down.

Both her coworkers were bandaged and bruised in some way; Morgan sported a black eye and a large bandage over his left hand while Reid's right hand and forearm were encased in cast and a bandage similar to Morgan's covered the space above his right eyebrow. Both men and Garcia looked rather miffed to say the least. "We helped Garcia decorate." Reid said by way of explanation.

"Oh!" Emily laughed. "You two should know better than to answer your phones on November 30th."

"I forgot today was the first." Morgan shrugged.

"I generally enjoy helping decorate. _This_," Reid said, holding up his cast, nearly knocking Morgan in the head and causing the larger man to jump back. "Has never happened before."

"I still say I don't owe you two much of anything. It's your own fault- you're accident prone…" Garcia began.

"No, _Reid's_ accident prone," Morgan cut in, ignoring Reid's protest, "The only thing that happened to me was you and Reid."

"Excuse me, did _I_ force you to slice your hand open with a box cutter?" Reid asked indignantly. "I don't think so. _You_ were the one who insisted "_No_, the kid's going to cut his fingers off, let _me_ open the boxes"."

"Okay, first of all, I do _not_ sound like that. Ever. Second…"

"We are digressing from the point!" Garcia said loudly, waving a hand at the arguing men. "Not only did you two inflict _most_ of those injuries on yourselves, you left me to finish decorating _alone_ after taking Reid to the emergency room."

"I was afraid I if I came back to help finish after I got the cast on that I would break something far more essential than my wrist!" Reid defended, waving the cast in the air and nearly clipping Morgan again.

"Man, would you stop waving that thing around?" Morgan asked, grabbing Reid's arm and placing it back at his side then addressing Garcia. "And you were singing a different tune yesterday while we were driving to the hospital."

"Well, yeah, he looked so _pitiful_, all bleeding and broken…" Garcia lamented, pointing accusingly at Reid. "I would have agreed to almost anything at that point."

"I did _not_…" Reid began to argue, only to be cut off Emily's laughter.

Morgan, Garcia and Reid all turned to glare at her and she shook her head. "Sorry, sorry…" She gasped, still smiling. "It's not funny that you're both hurt, but… what _happened_?"

The three FBI employees glanced at each other and seemed to think for a moment before they began to tell the tale of yesterday evening's decorating disaster.

"_Remind me why, again, I'm doing this?" Morgan asked, placing the last box of Christmas decorations on the floor by the others and straightening up._

"_Because you love me." Garcia answered easily as she came out of her office, wielding a box cutter, before adding as an afterthought, "And because you were the only one besides Reid who actually answered your phone."_

"_Yeah, well, I thought this was __important__." Morgan muttered._

"_This __is__ important. Now Reid and I finally have a helper. You don't think the office gets so fabulously Christmassy on its own every year, now do you?" The blonde asked before tossing the box cutter to Reid, who fumbled slightly, but caught the object._

_The genius pushed the blade up out of its sheath and was about to begin slicing open boxes when Morgan interrupted. "Nuh-uh, gimme that thing before you cut your fingers off, kid."_

_Reid scowled and did not hand the tool over. "I'm not a child and I am perfectly capable of operating a dull box cutter without injuring myself. I've opened the boxes of decorations every year before now and, unsurprisingly, I still have all 10 digits to show for it."_

"_Aw, let him have his fun my handsome helper." Garcia told the young profiler. "I guess if he's going to help out he should at least get to play with sharp things."_

_Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Reid pushed the blade back down and tossed the tool to Morgan, who caught it with ease. The older agent grinned winningly at the other two before starting in on the cardboard containers._

_Within the next 10 minutes, most of the boxes had been broken into and Reid and Garcia were digging through their contents while Morgan worked on the last of the bonds. Reid was piling garland neatly by his desk and Garcia was rifling through a box of wreaths when she suddenly let out a shriek and jumped back from the box. Both men jumped as well, Reid dropping the gold garland he was winding up and Morgan shouting in pain. "What happened?" Reid asked, looking from Garcia to Morgan and back again._

"_I thought a saw a spider in the box… why did you shout, stud muffin?" Garcia explained, looking over at Morgan._

"_Because… you made me jump while I was cutting a box open." Morgan winced and held up his hand, revealing an already bleeding gash across the top._

_Garcia winced and hissed in sympathy. "Oh, go wash that off, I'll find you a bandage…" She said quickly, moving over so she could nudge him in the direction of the bathroom._

"_Who's going to slice their fingers off…?" Reid muttered, earning a light smack and 'hush' from Garcia._

_-/\-_

_Later, when Morgan's hand had been sufficiently bandaged, the three decorators sat digging carefully through the boxes and listening to the carols Garcia had set up in the background. Suddenly, the relative peace was broken by Morgan's low chuckle. Reid and Garcia looked in his direction and he held up a bag of mistletoe, grinning. "Really, baby girl?"_

"_Hey, it's up every year, it's not my fault most people don't notice." Garcia replied with a mischievous smile._

_Morgan shook his head and placed the bag to the side, going on with his excavation of decorations. When another 10 minutes had passed, however, he found himself unable to stop scratching at his hand. Drawing it out of the box and glancing at his palm, his eyes widened. "You gotta be kidding me!" He said loudly, drawing both his colleagues' attention once more._

"_What…" Reid began to ask as Morgan turned to show them his right hand this time._

_Garcia and Reid's eyes widened as well when they found the palm was covered in raised welts. "What the Hell is going on?" Morgan asked, rubbing carefully at his palm. "What did you two put in this box?"_

"_Just some lights and the… __mistletoe__." Reid replied, realization lighting up in his eyes. "You're probably having an allergic reaction to the mistletoe. You know, that particular plant, __Phoradendron flavescens, is highly poisonous to people when ingested and…"_

"_Well I didn't __swallow__ it, I just touched the __bag__." Morgan said irritably._

"_There was probably some transferred to the outside of the bag by whoever was putting the mistletoe in it." Reid shrugged. "Go wash your hands again. I have some Benadryl in my bag you can take."_

_Morgan looked sorely tempted to question why Reid carried Benadryl around with him, but seemed to decide against it as headed for the bathroom once more._

_-/\-_

_Two incidents now well in hand, no pun intended, the decorating continued. After gulping down the appropriate dosage of Benadryl- as insisted by Reid- the hives on Morgan's hand had at least stopped itching and he returned to helping and avoiding anything that resembled mistletoe. "Hey, Reid!" Garcia called off the balcony to the genius who was winding garland around table tops. "Bring me that box, would you?"_

_Reid turned to the box Garcia was pointing to- one full of Christmas lights- and nodded. "Sure!" He called back, hefting the surprisingly heavy box up and heading towards the catwalk._

"_Watch out! Reid!" Garcia called, too late, however._

_Failing to see Morgan, who was heading his way with an armful of garland, Reid walked right into the larger man, sending them both toppling to the bottom of the catwalk in a tangle of bodies, lights, garland and one box. Garcia squeaked in surprise and rushed down after them. "Guys? Are you okay?" She asked frantically, tugging Morgan, who was closer to her, into a sitting position._

"_I am __this__ close to actually believing these decorations are cursed." Morgan muttered gruffly as he stood up off the floor._

_He held a hand over his left eye, which was already beginning to show signs of abuse and turned to Reid. "You okay, Kid?" He sighed, looking down at the genius still on the floor._

_Reid rolled off the now crushed box he had landed on and gasped for air, coughing. "Reid?" Morgan asked again, sounding slightly worried as he pulled his friend into a sitting position._

_The younger man continued gasping and coughing for a moment longer before he nodded. "Knocked the wind out of me…" He rasped, standing up and wincing as he did so, clutching his ribs._

"_Are you guys alright?" Garcia asked, breathing a little easier, herself, now that both men were standing._

_Both nodded and Reid looked sheepishly down at the mess of décor. "Sorry about that…"_

_-/\-_

_Later, still, things had progressed uneventfully. Morgan was seeing to the lighting-up of the Christmas lights, none of which had been damaged in his and Reid's impromptu trip to the floor. Reid was up on a ladder, hanging wreaths near the ceiling to accompany the ribbon already hanging there, and Garcia was flitting about the room doing whatever odd jobs she saw necessary. She was busy carrying a bag of bows past Reid as he came down from the ladder and bent over to pick up the box of wreaths when she noticed his look of discomfort. "Hey, now, why are you wincing?" She asked, turning to face him._

"_What?" Reid asked, unconvincingly feigning ignorance. "I'm not wincing."_

"_Oh, yes you are." Garcia said, poking him in the chest, causing him to hiss slightly in pain. "See? Wincing. What's wrong, sweet cheeks?"_

"_Nothing, it's just a few bruises from landing on the box." Reid shrugged._

_Garcia narrowed her eyes at him before poking him gently in the ribs, causing him to shift in discomfort again. "A few bruises, my eye. Lemme see." She said, beginning to pop open the buttons of Reid's shirt._

"_Garcia!" Reid shouted, his voice gaining half an octave as he clutched his shirt shut, blushing._

"_Oh, relax, you don't have anything I haven't seen before." Garcia told him, pushing his hands out of the way so she had a better view of the state of his chest. "Yikes…"_

_Reid's "few bruises" turned out to be more of one large bruise than anything. Garcia ran a finger over the angular edges caused by the box edges, causing Reid to shiver. "I'm fine. It's just a bruise." He said adamantly, buttoning his shirt, grabbing a wreath and climbing the ladder once more._

_The tech sighed as she watched him climb before shaking her head. "I'm beginning to agree with Morgan…" She said to herself, grabbing her bag of bows and walking away._

"_Agree with me about what?" Morgan asked as she walked by where he was fiddling with the lights._

"_That the decorations are cursed, hot stuff." Garcia replied, stopping for a moment to watch Morgan work._

"_Are you sure he should be up on that ladder, then?" The agent asked, jerking a thumb towards Reid._

"_Better him than you. You're having worse luck than him today."_

_No sooner had the words left Garcia's mouth than did Reid lose his footing on the ladder and fall to the floor, banging his head on the way down. Before either the analyst of the agent could react beyond a shout of "Reid!", the genius had sat up and spouted off a few words unbefitting of someone with such a high vocabulary._

_Morgan and Garcia came to his side, and helped him up. "Reid, you're bleeding…" Garcia said, gesturing to the gash above his eyebrow._

"_I think…" Reid tested his wristed carefully and winced. "Yes, I definitely did something unpleasant to my wrist…"_

_Already the joint had begun swelling. "Alright, that's it. I think you need to go to the hospital." Morgan said adamantly._

"_Agreed." Reid nodded, watching the skin puff out._

"_I'll drive." Garcia said, heading for her purse._

When the story came to a close- not without interruptions on the three storytellers' parts- Emily looked rather bemused. "You know, if I wouldn't have been fearing for life and limb, I'd almost have liked to see that…" She said finally.

Morgan and Reid scowled at the female agent, who gave them an unapologetic smile, and Garcia sighed. "All right, all right. One more favor each. Then that's it- my debt shall be repaid." She said, her tone suggesting she would not budge on the matter.

Morgan smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "Thanks, baby girl, but I'm gonna save my favor for when I need a good time." He winked and sat down at his desk.

"I can't wait." Garcia replied with a wicked grin before turning to Reid. "And how about you, my dear genius?"

Reid seemed to think for a moment before walking up to his desk, scooping up the folders waiting there in this left arm and handing them off to Garcia. "Reid… this is a _lot_ of paperwork!" Garcia said, heaving the stack onto her hip.

"I know… my right arm is in a cast, though, how can I be expected to do the parts which require writing?" He asked innocently.

Garcia narrowed her eyes at him before huffing and heading for her office. "You're really pushing it, brain boy!" She called before she shut the door.

There was silence for a moment before Emily spoke. "She does know you're ambidextrous, doesn't she?"

Reid grinned and sat down at his cleared desk. "I see no reason for that to enter into the equation just yet."

-/\-

Of course, it wouldn't be the 12 Days of CM without its namesake. The following is sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." I will not be held responsible for any weird looks you get if you choose to sing this out loud.

_On the first day of Christmas, the new case gave to me…_

_A psycho on a killing spree!_

-/\-

A/N: Wow… a LOT longer than I intended… but I hope you enjoyed! They won't all be so long, though. See you all tomorrow! Happy December Fourteenth!


	2. Criminal Carols

12 Days

A/N: Hello, everyone! First off, I apologize for my tardiness; I wasn't feeling well this morning and didn't get around the chapter until now.

Alright, so today is… a little odd. I have brought to you: Criminal Carols! Yes, it's exactly what you think it is. Now, I've never had a great handle on poetry, but I hope you at least get a kick out of these! I apologize in advance for the butchering of these Christmas carols.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, or Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.

Once again, I will not be held responsible for any weird looks you get should you choose to read/sing these out loud.

-/\-

Day 2: Criminal Carols

_BAU-Bells (To be sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells")_

Flying through the sky,  
In a private jet airplane,  
At some sheriff's beck and cry,  
To stop folks from being slain!  
The BAU team comes,  
And helps to save the day,  
Even though they all deserve much higher pay!

Oh, F-B-I,  
F-B-I,  
Freeze, or we will shoot  
Please acknowledge you belong in a mental institute!

(Repeat as necessary)

-/\-

_Deck the Desk (To be sung to the tune of "Deck the Halls")_

Deck the desk with toys and troll dolls,  
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la  
It distracts from gruesome screens on the walls,  
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la  
And keeps Garcia light and happy  
Fa-la-la la-la-la la-la-la  
Which keeps the job from being crappy  
Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la

-/\-

_No Case to Go (To be sung to the tune of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow")_

The cases we've had are awful  
And people have been unlawful  
But now we've no case to go  
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

We're relaxing after this case  
And slowing down our fast pace  
We'd like to relax, you know  
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

When we finally pack up our things,  
How we'll hate flying out in the snow  
But thanks to the conditions it brings,  
We can't fly back to Quantico

But at least now we're given a break  
Which is good for sanity's sake  
And as long as there's no case to go  
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

-/\-

(Sung to the tune of "Twelve Days of Christmas")

On the second day of Christmas the new case gave to me:

Two Reid Lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: Okay, whether or not those were terrible, those were pretty fun to write! I apologize again for butchering what might be someone's favorite Christmas carol. Anywho, hope you enjoyed! See you all tomorrow…


	3. Small Town, Christmas Eve

12 Days

A/N: Hullo, everyone! It is time for fabulous Day 3! Well… actually, it may not exactly be _fabulous_, but I hope you'll like it anyway!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds or the characters. Any characters you do not recognize, I have made up.

-/\-

Day 3: Small Town, Christmas Eve

On any given Christmas Eve, the members of the FBI's elite BAU would like to be able to say they were home or perhaps out of state celebrating with family. However, serial killers- or kidnappers, as the case may be- rarely heeded the wishes of others, which is why the team, minus their technical analyst, was shuffling around their tiny temporary headquarters a few hundred miles from home on _this_ given Christmas Eve.

Despite the fact the case had been solved without further fatality after their arrival- a general cause for celebration- the six agents hardly felt very high in spirits. It wasn't as though they wouldn't be able to get home sometime tomorrow, so they told themselves, but it simply didn't make up for being stuck in some small town in Connecticut for the night. Quietly, they went about their duties packing up bits and pieces of the case to be filed away as they mentally calculated what it would take to make it up to their families for being late to Christmas.

This was the somber scene Sheriff Benjamin Henderson, Ben to just about everyone, walked in on at six in the evening. "Well, Agents, I- this whole town, really, can't thank you enough for coming to help us." He said, breaking in on the silence.

"We were doing our jobs, Sheriff, there are no thanks necessary." Hotch said, straightening out some papers.

"Be that as it may, I'd feel better if you'd let me thank you, anyway." Ben replied with a crooked grin. "So, for starters, don't bother with all this cleaning up. I'll get someone else to do it."

The team had few objections to not doing the filing and the sheriff's grin widened slightly when they all quickly finished up their tasks and came to a stop. "Now, I know nothing can really make up for you missing out on Christmas Eve with your families, but we do have a small festival every year on the 24th…"

"Yes, I saw people setting up for it this morning. One of your officers explained what it was." Reid piped up, nodding. "It hardly seemed to be a _small_ affair, however."

Ben chuckled. "Alright, it's pretty big deal here. We even get a few out-of-towners for it. There's music, dancing, food, games, booths. It's starting up right now. I think you all might enjoy the festivities."

The team glanced around at each other, exchanging quick looks. "You know, that sounds like it could be fun." Emily spoke first. "I think I'll come down after packing my bag."

"Yeah, sounds cool to me." Morgan nodded with a small grin. "At least until it gets too cold."

"It definitely sounds like a nice way to unwind." JJ agreed.

There was a brief moment of silence which neither Rossi, Hotch, nor Reid moved to fill. "You coming, Spence?" JJ asked, knowing it wouldn't take much more than her question to gain the genius's acquiescence.

"Uh… I guess so, sure." Reid nodded, seeming to become more sure as he did so. "Yeah, it definitely could be interesting."

The sheriff smiled at his four confirmed guests. "I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed." He said.

The six agents began to gather any personal belongings left around the small conference room before beginning to head out. Rossi nodded to Ben before he walked past, which could be taken either as _'I may show up'_ or _'thanks, but no thanks.'_ Ben nodded in return and watched everyone file out. Hotch was the last left in the room. "Thanks for the invitation, Ben." He said as he picked up the last of his folders.

"Not an invitation, Agent Hotchner, anyone is welcome. If you don't have anywhere else to be, you might consider coming down to check it out." Ben said with a small smile.

"I might." Hotch nodded.

-/\-

When Rossi finally decided to head down to the festival and see how the rest of the team was faring, it was about seven in the evening. It was cold and it had been dark for a while then, but the snow on the ground reflected the holiday lights wound around just about everything, making the world look warmer and brighter. After a few minutes of searching, the senior profiler found four of his five colleagues sitting at a picnic table between the food booths and an empty part of the square. "Never figured most of you for anti-social behavior." He said as he came up and took a seat at the end of the long table.

"Who're you calling anti-social?" Morgan huffed, grinning just the same. "You've been hiding in your room all night."

"I wasn't hiding. I was packing my bag." Rossi replied easily.

Morgan raised an eyebrow and looked as though he would've liked to argue that point but let it slide. It was Christmas, after all. "We ate dinner." Emily said. "The lines are pretty long, but it was definitely worth it."

"I looked at all the booths they have. There were some pretty cool trinkets." JJ added.

Reid shrugged. "I have no excuse. I just don't like crowds…" He mumbled.

Everyone smirked slightly and JJ tossed a haphazard arm across Reid's shoulders for a moment. "Well, we're all out here at least, that counts for something." She said as she released him.

"Except Hotch." Morgan pointed out.

There was a collective shrug from JJ, Emily and Reid which suggested they thought the boss could do as he liked. Rossi only smirked again. The five of them fell into silence and watched as a band began setting up across the empty part of the square. It became apparent what it had been left clear for when the violinist started up, followed by the rest of the musicians. Several couples quickly took to the square and began dancing.

It wasn't long before the space was filled with people, laughing and swirling around with each other happily. JJ suddenly stood up, surprising the occupants of the table. "Spence, come dance with me." She said in the authoritative voice she saved for the media, though she had a mischievous grin on her face.

"What?" The genius's brows drew together in confusion.

JJ laughed and grabbed his gloved hand, tugging at it gently. "I know you, and you're not going to do anything unless someone makes you do something, so you're going to dance with me."

"I… don't think so." Reid replied slowly, shaking his head. "I mean- the square is paved with bricks, which increases the probability of tripping, not to mention the factor of the ice and snow on the ground. Then, of course, there's the sheer number of…" The young man's ramble was cut off as JJ managed to pull him half out of his seat and half into a standing position.

"Don't think so much about it. Just come out and have fun." JJ instructed him.

Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Reid stood up the rest of the way and took a tentative step towards the impromptu dance floor. "_One_ dance." He admonished.

JJ squinted as if thinking hard on his terms for a moment. "This song is half-over." She said as she began walking towards the dancers. "I get a dance and a half."

Reid shook his head but followed the blonde anyway. "Fine…"

Morgan and Emily chuckled quietly as they watched the JJ attempt to get Reid to place his hand on her waist while the genius blushed and resisted and the liaison rolled her eyes. Even Rossi cracked a smile. They watched their coworkers dance off into the crowd before a cheer rising up from a nearby game booth called their attention.

The game appeared to be a shooting gallery and a young man had just hit the most difficult target, earning him a prize from the top shelf. He presented a large white teddy bear with a Santa hat and red bow to his date who laughed and hugged it close as she pecked him on the cheek.

"You know, I used to be pretty good at that game." Morgan said with a grin.

"I've never played." Emily admitted.

"You haven't?" Morgan asked, his eyebrows going up in genuine surprise.

"No," The woman shook her head. "I guess it wouldn't really be fair now, though, would it? Considering we carry guns on the job."

"I won't tell if you won't." Morgan said, standing up from the table.

"It feels a little like cheating…" Emily replied, though she stood up as well.

"Well, it might be a bit like cheating for _me_," Morgan teased. "But I'm sure you'll be just fine."

Emily gasped in mock offense. "Oh, you're going to regret that remark." She said, heading for the booth.

"Make me a believer, Prentiss." Morgan followed close behind with a triumphant grin, even though he knew Emily knew exactly what he was up to.

Rossi shook his head and watched as they got in line, before turning around just in time to see Hotch walking up to the table. "Hey." The younger man greeted, taking a seat.

"Hey, yourself. You have a nice chat?" Rossi asked.

Hotch didn't even bother asking how Rossi knew he had called Jack. He supposed it was fairly obvious. "He's sad I couldn't be there tonight, but he's very excited for tomorrow." He told the older man with a small smile before looking around. "Where're the others?"

"Around." Rossi replied, first gesturing to the crowd of dancers and then to the shooting booth.

Expecting to see Morgan and perhaps Emily amongst all the dancers, Hotch scanned the faces and was surprised to see JJ and Reid waltzing about the square, red-faced from the cold and laughing slightly. He then turned his attention to the shooting gallery where he saw Emily grinning smugly as she presented Morgan, who looked less than pleased, with a plush rabbit in an elf hat. Hotch raised an eyebrow at Rossi, who shook his head. "Don't ask."

Hotch shook his head as well, smiling slightly and contenting himself to, just this once, sit back and relax. Moments like this were so rare in their lives that he knew when to simply enjoy it. It was, after all, Christmas Eve and if there was a better excuse to let the horror of the world slip their minds, Hotch had yet to find it.

-/\-

_As always, sung to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas"_

On the third day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Three Morgan tackles,

Two Reid lectures,

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: Hm… not sure about this one. It was kind of fun to write, though, so I hope you guys enjoyed! Happy Holidays, once more!


	4. Secret Admirer

12 Days

A/N: Okay, smidge of explanation here: even though JJ is engaged/married (not sure which) to Will and has a child, I'm still a shipper of JJ/Reid. I don't mind Will, of course, and I definitely wouldn't want to see JJ and Reid get together on the show… what this means is you guys are going to have to put up with a oneshot here and there of a suitably mushy nature.

In other words: this is JJ/Reid, AU. No Will or Henry.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, or anything ever written by Bill Peet.

-/\-

Day 4: Secret Admirer

There it was. The same as last year, the year before that and all the years before that. Since she had joined the BAU. A mystery gift. Sitting innocently in the middle of JJ's desk, pristinely wrapped in shining blue paper and tied with a festive white ribbon. The paper reflected her image as she approached the desk, casting her own curious look back at her.

In years past, she had received jewelry, a beautiful journal, pens and other such things. She had stopped being suspicious after the second gift appeared; they really didn't seem malicious. She had considered telling the team at first and asking their opinion, but decided that was cheating. What fun could be had in using profilers to ferret out her secret admirer? Of course, she hadn't been expecting the gifts to continue for so many years…

Sighing, JJ set her things down and picked up the flat package. It was solid in her hands and she didn't need years of experience guessing gifts from when she was a child to know that it was a book. She looked back at her desk and saw the note that always accompanied the gifts. A simple square of paper, upon which was always written "Merry Christmas." As if the gifter wasn't sure she would know it was a Christmas gift. She had never been able to compare the note to any handwriting, however, because it was always written in whirling, complicated script. Obviously, not someone's regular handwriting.

Finally, she gave in, grabbed the note and walked back down to the bullpen, where two of its three regular inhabitants had just arrived. "Hey, JJ, what's up with the gift?" Morgan asked as he tossed his coat over the back of his chair.

"I have no idea…" She admitted, shaking her head. "But I was sort of hoping for a hint."

"Oh, you've got a secret admirer, huh?" Emily asked in a teasing tone, dropping her bag under her desk.

"If you want to call it that," JJ replied with a small smile. "And I have for a while."

"How long is a while?" The other woman inquired.

"I've found a gift on my desk the Friday before we go on Christmas vacation every year since I've joined the BAU." The blonde admitted.

"That long and you never said anything?" Morgan asked, sounding slightly incredulous. "We could've helped you figure it out years ago."

"That's why I never told you." JJ laughed a little. "It felt like cheating."

"Well, if you've been receiving them since you started, that rules out Rossi." Emily noted.

"And you." Morgan added.

"Me?" The brunette cocked an eyebrow.

"Hey, we can't afford to cut women out of the suspect pool entirely. Maybe that's why the sender has never revealed themselves." Morgan shrugged then grinned deviously. "Maybe they know JJ doesn't swing that way."

Both women scrutinized Morgan for a moment, as if attempting to determine whether his suggestion was truly a serious one, before turning away and continuing as if he had never spoken. "It can't be Hotch, either, since he was still married when you started." Emily pointed out.

Morgan, scowling slightly at the cold shoulder received, spoke up again. "Never giving you the gift directly indicates a shy, non-confrontational personality." He said, sounding as though he was starting a profile briefing.

Emily nodded. "It could even be that…"

"_Guys_," JJ cut in before Emily could continue. "I'm not asking for a full profile, here. I just wanted to know if you knew anything."

The two profilers exchanged a look before shrugging. "No idea." Morgan said.

"What have you gotten from him in the past?" Emily asked.

JJ listed off the gifts, easily remembering each after having mulled them over for a few days each, at least. At the mention of the personal and sweet gifts, Emily's eyebrows went up. "Well, whoever he is, if you ever figure it out, I'd hang onto him." She said with a wry grin. "And then ask him if he's got a brother."

Laughing, JJ looked back down at the package in her hands. "Should I open it now?"

"Yeah, go for it." Morgan encouraged.

JJ gently tugged the ribbon off the package and laid it on Reid's vacant desk, which she was standing by. She flipped the gift over in her hands and was the work a finger under the flap of wrapping paper when Reid walked in. "What's going on?" He asked, eying the gift in JJ"s hands and then looking around at his colleagues.

"JJ's been getting Christmas presents from a secret admirer every year since she's joined the BAU. She was about to open this year's." Emily updated him quickly.

"You've been getting them since you joined the BAU?" Reid inquired, dropping his bag and satchel at his desk.

"Shh." Emily shushed him.

"I highly doubt your ability to see what JJ has received will be impaired by my asking a question." Reid replied easily.

JJ rolled her eyes but nodded at Reid. "Every year. I finally gave in and asked these guys if they knew anything. Do you?"

"No." Reid shook his head, looking down at the ribbon on his desk and avoiding JJ's gaze. "Whoever is giving you those gifts hasn't informed me."

The blonde stared at him for another moment before shrugging off the sensation that Reid was hiding something and turned back to the package. She gently pulled the paper off, damaging as little of it as possible. "Oh, you're not one of those people who has to keep the wrapping paper forever, are you?" Morgan asked with a groan.

"Not usually. And don't read into that." JJ shot back as she pulled the wrapping off completely.

The gift was revealed to be- as JJ had suspected- a book. The title of the book, however, was what made her breath catch in her throat for beat. "Oh," Was the only sound that escaped her lips at the moment.

"What is it?" Emily inquired. "A children's book?"

"It's… _Jennifer and Josephine_." JJ said, still looking at the book as if it was the most precious thing she'd seen.

"What's that?" Morgan asked.

"A book. By Bill Peet. He was a children's author." JJ replied, her tone suggesting her coworkers ought to have known that.

When no one spoke up, JJ shook her head. "Well, it was my absolute favorite book when I was little. I adored it. My dad read it to me every night… I lost my copy _years_ ago, though." She blinked and smiled slightly. "I- wow."

Emily smiled as well. "You _definitely_ have to find out who this guy is." She said adamantly.

"You've gotta _know_ who it is. How else would he have known about the book?" Morgan pointed out.

JJ's brows furrowed in confusion as she stared at the book. Suddenly, she turned around and headed all but ran back up to her office. "Thanks, guys, I'll talk to you later!" She called as she made her way up the catwalk.

Her coworkers stared after her for a minute before Morgan grinned and shrugged. "I guess she figured it out."

Emily smiled as well and neither of them noticed how Reid quietly slipped off to the break room.

-/\-

The end of the working day had come and gone and now the only people left at work could either be classified as 'dedicated' or 'workaholics.' Hotch, JJ and Reid, the only members of the BAU still about, would probably be classified as both.

Reid was contemplating going home after making what seemed like his hundredth coffee run when he saw a folded sheet of paper waiting for him on his desk. He glanced around, but didn't see anyone. He hadn't been gone that long, he didn't see how anyone would have had time to leave the note unless they'd been waiting.

Warily, he picked up the paper and unfolded it. It was a note written in familiar handwriting.

_How do you expect me to top a gift like that?_

Reid blinked and sat down at his desk, setting the note on the surface. "Really, Spence, how can I?" JJ's voice made him jump back out of his chair and whirl around.

She stood just outside the bullpen, smirking at him. "What- what makes you think the book was from me?" He asked, looking away.

JJ shook her head. "I may not be a profiler, but I'm not an idiot."

"I never said you were." Reid replied, brows furrowed in confusion.

"I mean I saw the way you wouldn't look at me when I asked you if you knew who the gifts were from. And I saw the look on your face before I went back into my office. And," She paused, grinning at the blush spreading across Reid's face. "You're the only person I've ever to told about _Jennifer and Josephine_."

Reid ducked his head and glanced down at the note on his desk. "Ah- yeah. I sort of thought this year's gift might be a giveaway." He looked back at her. "I was actually wondering how long it would be before you inquired after the source… it took longer than I thought."

JJ smirked. "I wanted to figure it out for myself." She admitted.

"And you did." The genius replied, looking away again.

The liaison's smile faded into a more contemplative look. "Yeah, I did. But I didn't figure out why." She said softly. "So… why, Spence?"

There was a huffed laugh from the other agent as he bent over his desk to clear it off and mumbled something. "What?" JJ asked, taking a step closer. "I need you to talk louder."

Reid sighed and leaned down to pick up his messenger bag. "I got them because you deserve them." He repeated, causing JJ to cock an eyebrow in confusion. "I- your first year at the BAU, I thought you were so… amazing. Not even just from a romantic standpoint, really, but on the whole. The things you did and dealt with… you were- still are- amazing."

He broke off and chanced to look up at JJ, who was blushing. Slightly encouraged by the fact she hadn't silenced him, he continued. "I got you the journal and I wanted to give it to you in person, but… well, I was sort of terrified. So, I took the coward's way out and left it on your desk. I saw you carrying it around with you on cases and I decided I would get you something next year and actually, physically give you the gift."

JJ smiled slightly. "The necklace." She remembered.

"I managed to talk myself out giving you that, too. It sort of developed into giving you a gift every year… without even the pretence of actually presenting it to you." Reid looked up from the folders he'd been packing in his bag. "I'm sorry."

JJ's brows knit together in confusion. "For what? You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I should have just… been brave enough to give you the gift in the first place. Or, for that matter, I shouldn't have been getting you things at all. It's not as though I got gifts for everyone else every year. You didn't ask for them and it was inappropriate." Reid's shoulders slumped slightly with the admission.

At a loss for words, JJ found herself unable to say anything as Reid put on his coat and shouldered his bag. "I apologize. I won't do it anymore." Reid told her, walking to the entrance of the bullpen. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Reid, wait a minute!" JJ managed to call after him as he brushed past her and towards the elevator.

Reid stopped and looked back. "If you'll just stop talking for a minute, I can tell you how _I_ feel about all this." The female agent told him.

Turning fully around now, the genius regarded her with a look of slight confusion. "I wasn't complaining about the gifts at all. I love them, Reid. They're sweet and I honestly don't remember the last time someone got me a gift as thoughtful as that book." JJ told him. "But… now that I know who they're from…"

Reid seemed to shrink back slightly where he stood, but JJ pressed on. "…I love them even more." Reid blinked in surprise at her admission.

JJ grinned and walked over until she was standing scant inches in front of Reid. "You know, Emily told me that if I figured out who was giving me the gifts, I should hang onto him." She said quietly.

The genius' eyebrows went up and JJ laughed a little. She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "And I agree with her." She said, smiling at the dumbfounded man before her.

"You do?" Reid asked.

"Yes, I do. I have to repay you for all those Christmas gifts, after all, don't I?" JJ replied, her smile gaining a hint of deviousness.

Reid smiled as well, more tentatively, but his voice contained the tint of amusement. "I think we could come up with a way…"

-/\-

On the fourth day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles

Two Reid lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: Yikes! That was so much longer than I thought it would be! And kinda corny towards the end… Well, I hope you enjoyed, anyway! Happy day 4!


	5. Snow Wars

12 Days

A/N: Hullo, all! Welcome to day 5! This one should be fun… or just plain ridiculous… whichever. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, or Christmas.

-/\-

Day 5: Snow Wars

It had been Reid who suggested the walk, though not in so many words. The case was over, surprisingly early in the day even. The team had headed back to the hotel, and Reid had informed them he was going to the nearby park for a walk. Considering it was snowing, this didn't surprise anyone; having grown up in Las Vegas, Reid insisted he would never get enough of snow. Morgan, claiming to be in need of a way to unwind, was the first to follow. Garcia, this being one of the rare occasions when she had traveled with the team, wasn't far behind, dragging Prentiss with her and calling for JJ to come as well. Rossi and Hotch had been the last to come, doing their best un-amused impressions.

Morgan caught up to Reid fairly quickly, fast walker though the genius was, and fell in step with him. "So you say you love snow, right, Kid?" The larger man asked.

"As much as one can have such chemical and hormonal reactions towards a weather condition, I suppose." Reid nodded.

Cocking an eyebrow Morgan stared at the younger man for a moment. "I'll take that as a yes." He said, then grinned. "So you've probably never been in a snowball fight, have you?"

"No," Reid replied contemplatively. "I haven't. Why do you ask?"

Reid turned to face Morgan, only to find his partner had disappeared. "Morgan?" Brows furrowed, Reid looked around. "Where did you go?"

A short whistle from behind him had Reid turning around to find Morgan had halted a ways back down the path. That was all he managed to see before he got a face-full of snow. Coughing and spitting the frozen substance out, he quickly swiped the snow out of his face and glared at Morgan. "Morgan! What the…"

"You've been in one now!" Morgan called out jovially, laughing slightly.

"Oh, yeah, laugh it up." Reid retorted, kneeling down and scooping up some snow in his gloved hands. "Let's see how you like it."

He quickly packed the snow before Morgan had a chance to react and lobbed it, sending it flying about a foot too far to the left. Morgan snorted. "That all you got, Genius?" He teased before taking off down the path in Reid's direction.

Reid gave a surprised shout and turned to run as well. "Why are you chasing me?" He shouted, not daring to look back over his shoulder, lest he trip over something.

"Came up with an improved version of a snowball fight when I was a kid!" Morgan called, still somewhere behind him. "You gotta tag the person!"

"Geeze!" Reid continued running, pouring a little extra energy into his strides.

Morgan had been confident he'd catch up with the thinner man in no time, but Reid was faster than he was given credit for and quickly disappeared around a corner and behind some trees. Morgan skidded to a halt when he had turned the corner as well and looked around. "_Where'd you go_?" He muttered to himself, looking around.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than was he hit in the chest with a loosely packed snowball, which exploded rather spectacularly. "Ha-HA!" Reid called, pointing triumphantly at Morgan and unwittingly jumping out from his hiding spot.

"Oh, bad move, Pretty Boy!" Morgan called out with a grin, taking off after the younger agent once more.

With a sound he would later emphatically deny having been "eep," Reid also set off again, heading down the way he had come. "Faster than I thought you were kid!" Morgan shouted from behind him.

Reid grinned and looked back over his shoulder. "I spent the better part of my childhood running from guys like you!" He called back with a breathless laugh.

Turning back to look ahead, Reid quickly remembered why he hadn't looked back over his shoulder in the first place. Then he ran into Emily. At the speed he'd been running, he had enough momentum built up to take the female agent off her feet and send them both flying into a snow bank with a muffled "oomph."

Reid was the first up and he quickly hauled Emily to her feet thereafter. "Emily, I am _so_ sorry, I…" His apology didn't make it any further as a snowball collided with the back of his head, exploding in a hail of white powder.

"You should look where you're going, Reid!" Morgan said as he caught up to the genius, grinning.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been chasing me! And would you please stop hitting me in the head?"

"Sure thing, Kid. Oh, and by the way," Morgan smirked and smacked Reid on the back. "Tag. You're it."

"You two are playing _tag_?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Er… with snowballs, apparently." Reid replied sheepishly before backhanding Morgan softly on the arm. "And, tag. You're it."

"Hey, I just tagged you. No tag-backs." Morgan pointed out, only to receive a blank stare in return. "Oh, come on. Didn't you ever play tag as a kid?"

"No." Reid said readily with a shrug.

Morgan sighed. "No tag-backs means you can't tag the person who just tagged you. You've gotta find someone else."

There was a beat of silence in which Reid seemed to contemplate this piece of information before he looked at Emily, whose eyes widened. "Reid…" She said slowly, her voice low. "Don't even- _dare_!" He voice rose in pitch on the last word as she dodged out of Reid's reach, who made a grab for shoulder.

"Sorry, Emily, I have to tag someone…" He sounded almost apologetic, but the grin on his face gave him away.

The genius made to dash after the female agent but momentarily lost his footing in the snow, giving Emily a head start. The woman took off with a shout of laughter as Reid quickly got up and ran after her.

Garcia and JJ, who had been talking as Emily was rather forcibly dragged into the boy's game of tag, were blissfully unaware until the woman in question came running by. "You have to help me!" Emily gasped as she dashed around and stood behind the bench her female coworkers were sitting on. "Reid's after me."

"Reid's _after_ you?" JJ asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"He's trying to tag me!" Emily replied, watching to two women before her burst into laughter.

"Wait, why doesn't he tag Morgan?" Garcia asked between giggles.

"Morgan tagged him," Emily explained with a shout of surprise as Reid came rushing around a corner created by hedges. "No tag-backs!"

With that, the dark-haired woman raced off with Reid quick to follow and Garcia wasted no time in jumping up and scooping a handful of snow off the ground. "Hey!" She called after Reid, lobbing the quickly packed snowball at him. "Pick on someone your own size!"

Though the snowball missed, the desired effect was still reached as Reid slid to a halt in the ankle-deep snow. "Garcia, Emily is taller than you…" He replied.

Garcia made no reply, but bent down to scoop up another handful of snow. Reid moved to do the same, but never made it past grabbing at the frozen ground. Garcia's distraction had afforded Morgan Emily enough time to gather a several snowballs and launch a small-scale attack on the genius.

Reid, realizing he was quite badly out-numbered and out-gunned, so to speak, took off running down the path again, followed closely by Morgan and Emily. Garcia seemed undecided for a moment, staring down at her rather impractical flats, but shrugged and ran after the other agents, leaving JJ rather bemused on the bench.

All was silent for a moment before Reid came dashing around the corner again, seeming to have cut around a few trees on the way there. "JJ, help!" He pleaded, slipping and skidding over to where she sat.

JJ regarded him for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Pack some snowballs, Spence." She instructed.

"Are you any good at throwing snowballs?… because, frankly, I'm not." Reid said, kneeling down and packing some snow into a tight ball as he fought to catch his breath.

"You, sir," JJ replied with a smirk, "Are talking to the East Alleghany snowball fight champion."

Meanwhile, as all of this transpired further in the park, Hotch and Rossi were walking the perimeter, still in view of the hotel. They had been having a quiet chat and perhaps even enjoying the detox time from the case. It was really quite peaceful- until JJ and Reid came dashing out from behind some trees, red-faced, out of breath, and covered in snow. "I thought you were the East Alleghany snowball fight _champion_?" Reid demanded between pants of breath as he ran past Hotch and Rossi.

JJ seemed to be able to keep up with him quite well, making good use of the sensible shoes she'd decided to wear that day. "Yeah, well, there weren't a lot of people in East Alleghany." She admitted. "Keep running!"

And Reid did. Right to an open expanse of the park and well within view of Hotch, Rossi, and his and JJ's attackers. The fight converged there for a minute or two as snowballs were lobbed back and forth. Things seemed to be reaching a climax as Reid- in an admittedly skillful move- ducked out of the path of a snowball and left it flying over his head and right into Hotch. Then, everything froze, no pun intended.

The genius was the first to regain his voice as he turned towards his boss. "Hotch, I'm sorry, I just…"

Hotch held up a hand to silence the apology and used the other to brush the snow off his coat. "You expect me to be upset because you wouldn't take a snowball for me?" He asked, his face straight.

Reid blinked, seemingly unable to tell whether Hotch was joking, but the others began laughing and he, too, smiled. Until Hotch leaned down to scoop up a snowball of his own and caught Reid in the side of the head. "_Why_ does everyone keep hitting me in the head?" He demanded, shaking snow out of his slightly damp hair.

"We can't help it, it's such an easy target." Emily, who stood closest to him, grinned.

The young man scowled and then clapped her on the shoulder. "Tag. You're it." He said with a smirk.

Emily acquired a shocked look before she took off after Morgan, who was laughing halfway across the field.

Rossi simply stood off to the side and watched. He listened as Emily laughed and JJ shouted when some snow fell down the back of her coat. He smiled to watch the team engage in something fun as they rarely could. It almost looked fun enough to join in, even.

_Almost_, Rossi smirked to himself as he watched Morgan receive a face-full of snow, _but now quite_.

-/\-

On the fifth day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

_Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles

Two Reid lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: I don't care if that was out of character… that was a heck of a lot of fun to write! Hope you guys got a bit of a kick out of it! Happy Holidays! See you all tomorrow.


	6. The Pageant

12 Days

A/N: Hullo, there! This one is a little weird, I suppose, but it should be fun! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds or the characters.

-/\-

Day 6: The Pageant

It was a well-known fact (according to Penelope Garcia) that you simply couldn't allow the Christmas season to pass without attending and/or participating in a holiday-themed plageant. And, of course, the hands-on approach is always better, which is why Garcia enlisted the help of an entire team of FBI agents for a Christmas play.

The production was a blend of many different holiday stories she had created with the help of a few friends. It was a relatively small affair; the cast was composed mainly of children whose parents needed an activity to occupy them and the crew was purely volunteer-based. The volunteers were all close friends. Which was why, when a cold brought one of them down two days before the play was to go on, it wasn't long before nearly all of Garcia's crew was out of commission.

That was where the BAU came in. It hadn't been hard to get Hotch on board, considering Jack was in the play, and after that it had only taken a little begging to get the rest of the team to come around.

Opening night came with the first good snow of the year and it couldn't have been more perfect, Garcia announced. She put the team members to work right away, assigning them to places she was sure they would do well. Morgan and Hotch, naturally, were to help with the set. As they pushed the setting around under the instruction of Garcia, who was costumed in a Santa-style dress, Jack occasionally dashed over and demanded his father's attention. "Look, Daddy, I'm an elf!" He cried as he ran over dressed in a green tunic and one elf ear.

"I see, buddy, but you don't look quite done yet." Hotch replied warmly, smiling down at his son and tapping the tip of the lone rubber ear.

When Jack looked up at his father with confusion, Garcia had come over to usher him back over to the costuming area. "He's saying you're only half-elfed, mister." She said with a smile. "Why don't you let Miss JJ get your other ear on?"

Jack nodded, waved to Hotch, who waved back, and scrambled back over to where Emily and JJ were helping kids into their costumes. "Miss Penelope says I need 'nuther ear." He repeated breathlessly.

JJ smiled warmly and led him over to where she'd put on his first ear. "How did your dad like your costume?" She asked as she fixed the second ear in place.

"I think he liked it!" Jack replied excitedly, shifted impatiently from foot to foot.

"Good." JJ said, smiling even as she concentrated on making the fake ear stick. Finally, she pulled away and ran a hand over Jack's hair. "There you go. All done."

The little boy immediately turned around with a hasty "thank you" and started off in the direction of Hotch once more. "Hang on a sec, kiddo! You don't have your hat." Emily called, catching him quickly around the waist and pulling him back.

The boy squeaked in protest until Emily handed him his hat, which he promptly thanked her for and pulled onto his head. "Very nice." Emily appraised with a smile. "Do you have your lines memorized?"

"Yes," Jack nodded, suddenly becoming quite serious. "I practiced _all month_."

"I bet you'll be great." Emily replied. "Now go show your dad."

Jack nodded again and dashed off towards the stage with a smile on his face, running right past Garcia, who was now pleading with Rossi. "C'mon, you said you'd help, right?" She asked.

"When I said I'd help, I didn't know that was what you had in mind." The profiler replied.

"But you've _got_ to do the intro! You're voice is so cool! It's like… it's smooth like peanut butter." Garcia thought a moment before adding to her statement. "Y'know, the smooth kind, not the chunky."

Rossi raised a brow at the comparison, but shook his head. "I don't know…"

"Oh, you'll be fine." Garcia pushed a script into his hands, convinced she had him. "It'll be just like giving a profile, except it's all about Christmas."

Seeming to realize Garcia wasn't taking no for an answer, Rossi sighed and took the script, glancing over it. "Holiday goodness?" He picked a line out of the text, phrasing it as a question.

Garcia shrugged. "So, some of it's not exactly you. Adlib a little. It's only a few lines."

Before the agent could protest any further, Garcia turned and called out to everyone within earshot. "Alright people, 10 minutes to curtain! Let's get this show on the stage!"

Shortly thereafter, Hotch, Morgan, Emily and JJ all came and gathered where Rossi and Garcia were already standing. "Have all of you completed your tasks?" Garcia asked, clapping her hands together in a businesslike manner.

There was a general affirmative from the four as Rossi mumbled to himself, reading his lines. "Garcia, where's Reid?" JJ asked. "Isn't he helping?"

"Oh, I got him early. He's been helping me from the beginning." Garcia smiled mysteriously. "Now go, my Santa's little helpers, to your seats!"

With little room for argument, four of the members of the BAU moved to their seats, where Will and Henry were already waiting, leaving Garcia to her secrets and Rossi to his line memorization. The curtain rose soon after, showing Rossi standing alone on the stage in front of the settings Morgan and Hotch had arranged. He carried his lines off quite well, as Garcia had predicted, even eliciting a few laughs. He then joined his teammates in the audience to enjoy the performance.

As the play itself started, everyone was rather hoping they wouldn't see Reid on stage dressed as an elf or something equally ridiculous, but there were just the children they'd seen running around backstage. Before the kids said their lines, however, a violin started up from somewhere offstage. Everyone glanced around and the team was surprised to see Reid standing by the stage, pulling a bow across the strings of a violin. He concentrated on the music and played with a practiced manner.

There was little time to dwell on this surprising bit of information before the kids started speaking.

The play went off without much of a hitch- minus The Ghost of Christmas Past forgetting her lines and the second camel tripping onstage- and soon the kids were all on the stage taking a bow. The team waved to Jack, who waved back with a broader smile than they'd seen in a long time and Hotch was making a mental note to do something nice for Garcia every day until the end of the year. However, he began to rethink the note when she came down into the audience and ushered them all up onstage. She dragged Reid up there as well, despite his protests and arranged the team all in a line behind the currently closed curtain.

The team all looked over at Reid and gestured vaguely to the violin and he blushed and shrugged in return. "I did offer to play the piano, but a violin seemed more manageable." He said with a small smile.

His statement was received with varying smiles and rolled eyes before Garcia shushed them and had the curtain opened once more. "Let's have a hand for this fabulous crew! Without them, tonight wouldn't have been nearly as fantastic and festive and just plain awesome as it was!"

The audience broke into applause, surprising the six members of the team. Morgan was the first to shrug and take a bow, followed by a laughing Emily. JJ, Rossi, Hotch and even Reid all took bows as well, each smiling just a little. Certainly, it had been odd way to spend their night but, oddly enough, they couldn't really imagine having done much else.

-/\-

On the sixth day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Six hotel beds

_-Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles

Two Reid lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: Just a bit of pointless holiday-themed fluff to get you through the day. Hope you enjoyed! Happy Holidays!


	7. Mistletoe

12 Days

A/N: Hullo, all! Welcome to day seven of 12! I can't believe it's been a week already… and that there's five-ish days left till Christmas… one till Yule… Anywho, enjoy!

Warning? This is another JJ/Reid. Last one. Promise… I think.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds or the characters.

-/\-

Day 7: Mistletoe

The bar scene was a rather strange one just two days before Christmas. However, Garcia was of the opinion that it somewhat suited the members of the BAU.

There were people everywhere, some still wrapped in coats and scarves, contrasting with the scantily-clad dancers on the floor. Half-hearted garland hung here and there but the lights, which added to the atmosphere, were artfully arranged. Music to dance to blasted out of the speakers and the playlist was dotted with the odd Christmas carol remix. No denying it was an interesting mix, which was exactly why Garcia had chosen the place to entice the team out for a post-case, pre-Christmas unwinding. Tomorrow, in her words, they'd have planes to catch, trees to trim, families to meet, but tonight… they _danced_.

Or they at least relaxed. The tech wasn't terribly picky.

She knew it was useless to try and make the members of the team do something they didn't want to. For instance, she couldn't make Morgan stop dancing until he was ready to stop (not that she wanted to, of course). She couldn't pull Hotch or Rossi away from their male-bonding-reminiscing-fest over at the bar. She couldn't pull Emily away from the hot dark-haired guy she was chatting up near the dance floor (he might think _he_ was chatting _her_ up, but anyone who knew Emily knew it was the other way around). And she certainly couldn't pull JJ or Reid apart.

Garcia rolled her eyes as she watched the two youngest agents of the team sit close to each other and talk. She'd never thought just _talking_ could be so irritating. Or adorable. Most days Garcia found she was torn between the two assessments. Sighing, she leaned forward on the table, took a sip of her drink and then wielded her questioning stare on the couple. "So tell me, my unlikely love birds, how did you two end up coming together right under our noses?" She asked finally.

It was a question that had secretly been driving the team mad for weeks, since they found out about JJ and Reid's relationship. It was also secretly causing the couple pleasure to know they were driving everyone else mad. If only a little.

"You know, it actually happened a year ago." Reid said with a ghosting grin. "To the day."

Garcia grinned right back, if not somewhat less innocently. "Got any plans to _celebrate_, my doves?"

Reid had the decency to indulge Garcia's wishes and blush at the implication, but JJ only joined in the grinning. Her smile held the secrets of what would come later. "Do you want to hear about how we got together or our plans for celebrating our anniversary after we get out of this bar?"

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that. I'm not picky." Garcia giggled. "But if I must choose, I suppose I'll go with the first."

"It was on the case in New York we had a year ago. The one just before Christmas." JJ began.

_It was some sort of Christmas miracle, for sure. The BAU had been called in after three little girls had gone missing. No bodies turned up, but two more girls went missing during their time in New York. They assumed the girls were still alive until proven otherwise, but in their heads, way in the back of their minds, they thought the worst._

_Imagine their surprise when they discovered who the UnSub was, went to their house, and found all five blonde-haired, brown-eyed little girls alive and well. The UnSub, one Martha Night, had been kidnapping the girls in an attempt to create a Christmas she'd never had as a child. However, when her fantasy didn't play out, she seemed to be unable to kill someone whom she saw as herself and, instead, simply added another 'her' to the mix._

_Martha's house was quite possibly the strangest crime scene the team had ever been to, and certainly the most festive. It looked like the Christmas spirit had manifested in the middle of everything and then exploded. Decorations covered everything; holly, garland, tinsel, wreaths, lights, not to mention the enormous tree. Yes, this psycho's halls were definitely decked._

_It didn't take long to clear the scene, get Martha out to a squad car and the five girls back to their anxious parents. There didn't appear to be much more to see at the scene, beyond the vaguely creepy dancing Santas, and it was quickly becoming emptied of people. Before too long, Reid was the only one left in the house. "Hey, Reid, are you coming? We're going to head back to the station soon." JJ came back into the main room to check on him._

"_Yeah, I'm coming. I just wanted to… look at all of this, I guess." Reid shrugged._

"_What's to see? It's a psycho's version of Christmas; it's creepy." JJ shrugged in return, looking around the room as she came further in._

"_It's not a psycho's version of Christmas… it's everyone's image of an ideal Christmas. It's eerily perfect; what everyone seems to think makes the holiday right." Reid replied._

_JJ was silent for a moment before she shivered slightly. "Okay, now this place is really giving me the creeps. Let's get out of here."_

_Reid nodded and followed the blonde out the front door and stopped just beyond it, standing on the porch and surveying the scene before them. People were still rushing about here and there, calling superiors and families, talking to members of the BAU and the police force, but overall mood was somewhat… cheerful. As though a heavy weight had been taken off everyone. The officers were smiling, as were a few members of the team. The families of the girls were beyond happy, to say the least. There were literal tears of joy. And that was as it should have been; how often was there a case where absolutely no one died?_

"_Personally, I think this is a better version of Christmas than the one inside." Reid said shyly._

"_Christmas a crime scene?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow._

"_No, I just mean… everyone is happy. Carefree. They're celebrating. It's Christmas and we reunited five families. It's nice." Reid clarified._

"_Oh." JJ looked out over the five families and then turned to Reid and smiled. "You're right. It is nice."_

_Reid didn't look back at her, but at a point just above her. "She even got the mistletoe." He mused quietly._

"_Excuse me?" JJ looked up as well._

"_Martha Night, she had mistletoe." Reid said, gesturing to the plant hanging above their heads._

"_Ah."_

_There was a moment of silence as both agents regarded the bit of greenery before Reid broke it. "You know, the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe originated long ago, but it wasn't until 18__th__-century England that the tradition as we know it formed. A girl standing under a ball of mistletoe could not refuse to be kissed. In some regions, the mistletoe would be burned on the 12__th__ night of Christmas, or everyone who kissed under it would never be married." He said quietly, looking back down at JJ._

_JJ regarded the young man for a moment. "You're not going to propose a kiss, are you?" She asked teasingly. "Because I may not be able to refuse, but we __are__ at a crime scene."_

"_What? No, I wasn't- I'm not… Not that I wouldn't- I mean…" Reid attempted to speak before stopping altogether. "Um… weren't we supposed to be leaving soon?"_

_Smiling, JJ nodded, then stood up on her toes to press as quick kiss to Reid's lips. Then she grabbed the perplexed genius' hand and began to lead him towards the SUV. "C'mon, Spence, let's go."_

"Aw!" Garcia cooed as JJ closed the tale. "That's sweet… and a little disturbing. Your first kiss was at a crime scene?"

Reid shrugged. "If you consider how often we're at crime scenes, the chances in favor of it being at one were statistically high…" He said with a small grin.

JJ smiled as well and leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek. Garcia shook her head but smiled affectionately. "At least there were no dead bodies around…" She muttered quietly.

-/\-

On the seventh day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Seven fast food joints,

Six hotel beds,

_Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles,

Two Reid lectures,

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: So, that was terribly corny, but sorta fun to write. Hope you enjoyed! I eliminated the commentary on "The 12 Days" for various reasons, in case you hadn't noticed, but I'm keeping the song. Sorry if anyone was actually enjoying that part. Anyway, Happy Holidays!

Oh, I'm thinking of doing another "Criminal Carols"! If anyone has any songs they'd like to see butchered, let me know! Thanks!


	8. Secret Santa

12 Days

A/N: Hello, again! It is time for another installment of useless holiday fluff! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds or the characters.

-/\-

Day 8: Secret Santa

It was Garcia who had decided that the team was in need of a little bonding exercise. It was Hotch who cleared the idea after a little wheedling from Garcia. It was Reid who provided the battered top hat which the names were put into (and Garcia never was able to make him reveal where he got it). It was just rotten luck they drew the names that they did. The BAU's first annual Secret Santa didn't exactly turn out the way Garcia thought it would.

Rossi, who went first, drew Garcia's name. He, honestly, had no idea what to get the tech. He didn't really have much of an inclination towards technology and he wasn't even sure what the woman was talking about when she got going on it. He doubted he'd be able to offer her anything technologically acceptable. Perhaps something colorful and/or "adorable" would fit the bill. Too bad Rossi just didn't do "adorable."

Garcia, rather than getting Morgan, as she had hoped, or JJ or even Reid, both of whom she knew well, she drew Hotch. What to get the man who expresses nothing and, apparently, wants nothing? It had to be something that just screamed "boss-man"… or maybe something for Jack. Hotch probably didn't need another tie.

Hotch pulled out Reid's name next and, for the first time in a while, he felt at a loss. The genius probably wouldn't enjoy any of the usual, trivial Secret Santa gifts. He probably wouldn't get the joke if Hotch made an attempt at any sort of reference. He'd probably read every book in print. The only thing Hotch really knew of the younger man's interests, aside from reading, sci-fi, profiling and more reading, was magic. But Hotch knew little of magic.

Reid, despite the fact that man was, arguably, his closest friend, couldn't quite suppress the disappointed sag of his shoulders when he drew Morgan's name. Sure, they were friends, but they had _nothing_ in common. Morgan was almost his opposite and they probably would never have bonded if it hadn't been for work. All Reid knew was that anything he found interesting or entertaining, Morgan would probably not. In fact, that may have been a good jumping-off point.

Morgan, after deliberating for a moment over the three remaining pieces of paper, pulled Emily's name out of the hat. At that moment, he knew there was a 50% chance he was screwed. It was part of his policy to never mess with a woman with a gun. Not ever. Which is why, despite his teasing, he never really tried to pry into Emily's personal life. Which why he didn't know much about the woman's interests. It was another part of his policy that if he was forced to mess with a woman with a gun, to not screw it up. He'd better not pick wrong.

Emily reached in and pulled out one of the last two pieces without even looking in and found JJ's name on the flip side. She really wasn't entirely sure what to think of that. Certainly, she'd spent a good amount of time with the blonde liaison and she felt as though they were good friends, but she couldn't be sure what to give her as a gift. She knew they had different interests, however. Different enough to make her glad she was a profiler. The one thing she could be sure of was that there should be no baby-related items.

JJ went last and immediately pulled out the final name in the hat. It was Rossi. Now, this would be a problem. Not that she disliked the man, but she was fairly sure the only one who knew anything about Rossi, besides what the older agent wanted them to know, was Hotch. Really, the guy was rich- what could she have to offer him that he couldn't get for himself?

With absolutely no clue what to get their respective recipients, the team parted with instructions from Garcia to have their gifts ready by the day before their holiday break began. That gave each of them two weeks of doubting, shopping and hoping. By the time the date rolled around, no one was really sure this was going to go well.

This whole "bonding" thing had really turned out to be rather depressing. It simply reinforced the idea that they were all entirely too good at shielding their personalities and that they all sucked at Christmas shopping. However, they all showed up at Garcia's apartment at the appointed time and obediently put their gifts under her festive and slightly over-decorated tree.

Then came the really nerve-wracking part- the opening of gifts. JJ, as she had gone last in the name-pulling, was to open hers first. She regarded the envelope with a slightly confused expression before ripping it open and pulling out the contents. Inside was a reservation for two, made for a weekend at a bed and breakfast. There was also a signed agreement from Emily to look after Henry for the weekend. All doubts Emily had about the gift were erased when JJ grinned widely and gave her a quick hug of thanks.

Emily, having given the gift, went next. Her box was rather large and clinked conspicuously when she moved it. Cocking an eyebrow, she pulled off the paper and opened the box, then reached in and pulled out a snow globe. It contained some of Italy's most famous attractions. She reached into the box again and this time pulled out one of Spain. By the time she had retrieved every globe from the depths of the box, there was one for every language she spoke. She laughed, shook her head and thanked Morgan with a bright smile. Odd, perhaps, but sweet nonetheless, she decided, and didn't even ask how many times he'd had to ask Garcia to pull up her personnel file for him.

Morgan pulled his gift over next and noted Reid's anxious look as he did so. Out of the long, thin box came a large rolled up sheet of paper. He unrolled it with an intrigued look and stared at it. The entire page was covered with pencil sketches and colored with water color. There were four people at the front of the drawing, all of whom looked rather familiar. The style was definitely strange, but after a moment Morgan recognized the people as himself, his mother and his two sisters. In the background, he recognized some famous buildings of Chicago. He looked up at Reid, who ducked his head and began to babble about not wanting to get Morgan something stereotypical such as athletic equipment and how he knew family was important to the other man before Morgan finally managed to silence him. He clapped him on the back and grinned, announcing it was certainly the most interesting gift he had received in a long while.

Reid was next in the line of gift opening, and cast a curious glance around at the remaining giftless givers as he picked up his present. He, too, had received an envelope. Inside were two tickets to a small-time magic show in Las Vegas. Hotch assured the young genius that the performer, though he wasn't well-known, had received nothing but good reviews. Time off in the near future was promised and though the "take your mother if she's feeling well" was unspoken, Hotch could see the gratitude shining in the younger man's eyes and knew there was nothing more to be said.

Hotch, who sat with Jack, looked slightly wary at the two boxes Garcia handed him, making no mystery of her identity as his Secret Santa, but ripped into the larger one under her advice. More confused than worried now, he pulled out a pair of jeans and an obviously hand-made dark blue sweater with the letters "FBI" knitted right in. The smaller package held the same goods, but the jeans and sweater were distinctly smaller. The man stared at the gifts for a moment before actually laughing out loud as he handed the smaller garments to Jack, who looked terribly excited at the prospect of matching his father.

Fairly sure whatever she got from her Secret Santa wouldn't be able to top laughter from Hotch, Garcia ripped into her gift and was promptly proven wrong. The package turned out to be a rather old rag doll in what looked to be a hand-stitched dress. With bright eyes, the tech gaped up at Rossi, who had been outed as the giver by the other members of the team. The elder agent shrugged, his trade-mark mysterious half-smile gracing his lips. It wasn't until later that he admitted to calling the woman's brothers, who took pity on him sent him the doll, which Garcia had made with her mother many years ago before it had been lost to the attic.

Rossi was last to pull his gift over and rip open the wrapping. His gift was a small photo album, each page featuring pictures of him and other members of the BAU. Some were posed (somewhat reluctantly on occasion) and some were candid ones that the man didn't even know existed. There was even a recent-looking picture of the Galens that Rossi wasn't sure how JJ had managed to get her hands on. On the very last page, written in JJ's neat hand, was a short message. "_You may not have had the best of luck with your wives, but you still have a family_." He glanced up at JJ who gave him a winning smile and he couldn't help but smile back.

So it hadn't turned out as badly as the elite team of agents plus one elite technical analyst had thought it would. In fact, it went quite the opposite of all their dismal expectations. Taking a look at the contented smiles of her coworkers and friends, Garcia declared the whole event to be a mushy, feel-good, supreme success and the others couldn't help but agree, if not in so many words.

That is, until the tech started talking about next year's round of Secret Santa.

-/\-

On the eighth day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Eight rude reporters

Seven fast food joints

Six hotel beds

_Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles

Two Reid lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: That was very difficult to write. For one, I don't think I've ever written a story without dialogue, and two, I got stumped on the gifts! Especially Rossi's and Reid's for some reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! See you all tomorrow…


	9. Criminal Carols Pt 2

12 Days

A/N: Alright, I suppose I should be pleading insanity by now, but today's chapter didn't exactly pan out, so I needed a filler. Thusly, I bring you more Criminal Carols. Enjoy! (Or run screaming into the night… that may be safer)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, any of the Christmas carols parodied here, or Alvin and the Chipmunks.

As ever, I will not be held responsible for any weird looks you get should you choose to read/sing these out loud. Not my fault, sorry.

-/\-

Day 9: Criminal Carols (Pt. 2)

_The BAU's Plea to Christmas (Sung to the tune of "The Chipmunk Song")_

Christmas, Christmas time is near,  
Time to leave our files here,  
Crime's been good, but it won't last,  
Hurry, Christmas, hurry fast!  
Want to end the blood and gore,  
That's what we hunt UnSubs for.  
But vacation would be great,  
Please, Christmas, don't be late!

-/\-

_Unholy Night (Sung to the tune of "Silent Night")_

Silent night, unholy night  
This killer's giving quite a fright  
Find some professionals to deal with this crap  
If I have to handle it, I'm going to snap  
Call the BAU  
Get me the BAU

-/\-

_The BAU is Comin' to Town (Sung to the tune of "Santa Clause is Comin' to Town")_

You better watch out  
For the FBI  
You murderous lout,  
I'm telling you why  
The BAU is coming to town

They're profiling you  
And checking it twice  
They know you really haven't been nice  
The BAU is coming to town

You kill victims when they're sleeping  
And they never will awake  
For killing them you deserve some jail  
So go to jail for everyone's sake!  
O! You better watch out  
For the FBI  
You murderous lout,  
I'm telling you why  
The BAU is coming to town  
The BAU is coming to town

-/\-

_(We now return to your regularly scheduled carol)_

On the ninth day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Nine pissed-off cops

Eight rude reporters

Seven fast food joints

Six hotel beds

_Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles

Two Reid lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: I should seriously have my rhyming dictionary taken away. Anywho, I hope those at least gave you all a little bit of entertainment. "The Chipmunk Song," in case you hadn't guessed, is a nod toward Matthew Gray Gubler's role in "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Special thanks go to SSAFunbar for suggesting "Santa Clause is Comin' to Town!" I'll tell you now that that one came out a lot less demented than I planned it… Happy Holidays, all! See you tomorrow!


	10. Christmas Eve Invasion

12 Days

-/\-

A/N: Wow… I just found this in my files. It was something I wrote a year ago, but didn't have the guts to post it… so I thought it might make a good addition to 12 Days! It was written when Reid was still on a cane, by the way. Hope you all enjoy this tiny blast from the not-so-distant past.

Warning: There is a puff of Reid-angst (I just can't help myself…) and almost no Rossi. I just don't have a handle on writing that guy yet… sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, Christmas, the rights to any holiday movies, or the book/poem "The Night Before Christmas".

-/\-

Day 10: Christmas Eve Invasion

Reid sighed as he sank down onto his couch. Usually, he would have been in Vegas right now. He told himself he wasn't there because this last case had cut it so close that no one had gotten a flight home. But the reason he hadn't tried harder to find a way back home was because his mother wasn't doing well. The nurses had told him it would basically be a waste of money; she would probably barely even recognize him if he came.

So, here he sat in his apartment on Christmas Eve, wondering if watching the marathon of "A Christmas Story" would even be appropriate. However, before he could even make that decision, the sound of key scraping the lock rang through his silent home.

Pulling his gun off the table beside his couch where he had left it, he limped across his living room and set his sights for the front door. The door swung open, startling him, but soon proving he had nothing to fear but intrusion from his friends and coworkers. "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" Garcia called out merrily as she let herself into his apartment, followed closely by Prentiss and Morgan.

"What are you guys doing here?" Reid asked, quickly lowering his weapon.

"We're here to have a merry Christmas." Garcia said, walking past him and into his living room.

"And we're dragging you along for the ride." Prentiss told him, following Garcia.

It felt as though he was being invaded. Reid watched as Garcia placed the boxes she had been carrying in the middle of his living room, Prentiss went into his kitchen and began unloading the plastic grocery bags she had been carrying, and Morgan hefted a large box around and stood it up on its end. Reid could see it was a plastic Christmas tree. It was a minute or so before Reid found the correct words to relay his feelings. "What the hell is going on?"

"I already told you, my grumpy genius, we're celebrating Christmas, whether you like it or not." Garcia informed him as she began to open the boxes she had brought in with her.

"But why in _my_ house?"

"We all noticed you seemed down at the office. We thought you could use some cheering up." Morgan said.

"So you invaded my apartment? Don't you have anything better to do?" Reid asked, throwing his arms up for effect.

"None of us could get tickets out of here in time to be home for Christmas, just like you. We decided it would be better to get stuck together than be alone." Prentiss said, coming in from the kitchen, then added, "And we knew you wouldn't go along with it if we asked you, so we didn't."

Reid looked from Prentiss to Morgan to Garcia to all the boxes littering his once neat living room and sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing when it was three against one and the pain from putting his full weight on his leg was starting to get to him. He limped back over to his couch, sat down, and looked back at his friends once more. "So what are we doing here?" He gestured towards the boxes Garcia was opening.

The three standing before him grinned. They had him. "Prentiss provided the lovely tree and some decorations for it." Garcia said, motioning towards the large box Morgan had carried in.

"It was just sitting around at my place. I never got around to putting it up." Prentiss explained.

"Morgan was in charge of the snacks and sweets…"

"Food shopping, this time of year, in Wal-Mart." Morgan sat down heavily next Reid on the couch. "You all owe me big time."

"Oh, stop whining, hot stuff." Garcia chided, a mock-stern look adorning her features, before she continued listing off roles. "I, of course, brought the things with which we shall deck your halls. JJ and Hotch are providing small children and our picture-perfect holiday will be complete!"

"What about Rossi?" Reid asked.

"Ah- I couldn't get a hold of Rossi. He said something about having a date and declined his invitation." Garcia admitted.

"Oh. So… what do we do now?" Reid asked, a little embarrassed about his lack of knowledge as far as holiday preparations went.

"We decorate. What else?" Morgan asked, grinning.

"Well… I've never really done anything like this for the holidays. I'm not entirely sure about how it all works, exactly." Reid admitted.

The looks he received from both Prentiss and Garcia suggested he had just said something far worse than he had originally thought. "We have much to teach you." Prentiss said, depositing a box of decorations onto Reid's lap.

Morgan watched, highly amused, as the two women went to great lengths to make sure every detail was explained to their clueless friend- until Garcia noticed he didn't have a job. "What are you waiting for? Start setting up the tree, Handsome!" She urged.

They all stopped and watched for a moment as Morgan tried to make heads or tails of Prentiss' plastic tree before the female agent took pity on him and went over to help.

-/\-

Reid looked around and marveled at the change in his apartment. Though it was modestly decorated, everything looked that much better. Even though he hadn't wanted to admit it at first, he had really had fun getting caught up in the holiday preparations. Before he knew it, they had decorated his home and were sitting around his living room eating popcorn and watching the marathon of "A Christmas Story".

Things seemed simply perfect. He had friends, his favorite holiday movie, even holiday cheer; he couldn't think of anything more they could need- until the doorbell rang. He had forgotten all about Garcia's promise of "small children". Morgan got up and let in JJ, Will, and little Henry.

Soon after, Prentiss was getting up to let in Hotch and Jack. Though neither could stay long, the presence of children really seemed to bring out the holiday cheer in everyone. There was a smile on every face as gifts were exchanged and stories were told.

In all honesty, Reid couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed himself this much around Christmas. There was an afterthought of guilt, but he pushed it to the back of his immense mind. He could feel guilty after Christmas. "So, is anyone up for "The Night Before Christmas" before we cart the kids off to bed?" JJ suggested.

Everyone turned to Garcia, expecting her to pull the book out and begin reading. However, she simply stared blankly ahead for a moment before bringing her palm to her forehead and gasping dramatically. "I can't believe it! I forgot the book!" She said, tossing her hands up in frustration.

"It's fine, Garcia, I'm sure we both have the story at home somewhere." Hotch assured the distraught tech.

"Uh- I could- um- I could tell it, if nobody minds the lack of pictures…" Reid spoke up.

"Hey, that would be great, Spence." JJ said, smiling warmly.

Almost immediately, people positioned themselves around Reid and waited for the story to begin. "Um… okay." Reid blushed, uncomfortable about suddenly being the center of attention.

"T'was the night before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a mouse." Reid began quietly, surprising everyone.

They had expected him to rattle it off in a dry tone as he did most things he recited from memory, or when he was reading. But this was different. He spoke animatedly, almost with a sense of whimsy. He held Jack's attention all the way through and even managed to capture Henry's for a short while.

It wasn't long before he brought the story to a close. "But I heard him exclaim,

As he drove out of sight:

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

"Reid, that was great. Who knew my junior g-man was a story teller this whole time?" Garcia said, nudging Reid affectionately.

Reid blushed at the general praise he received, and looked genuinely startled by the thank-you hug he received from Jack before he and Hotch left. "Thanks for having us, Reid." Will said as he and JJ stood to leave.

"The story was really great, Spence." JJ told him, gently handing him Henry so he could say goodbye before Garcia came over to smother her godson in affection.

Soon, just Prentiss, Morgan, Garcia, and Reid were left again. Reid eyed the presents beneath the tree eagerly. He hadn't seen this many presents under his tree in quite a long time. Prentiss followed his line of sight and smirked. "Don't even think about it. You open presents in the morning, just like the rest of us."

The young man deflated slightly, but agreed. Grinning, something that seemed to be infectious that evening, the four adults returned to their movie watching and did, in fact wait until Christmas morning to open their gifts.

1:30 in the morning technically counted as Christmas morning, after all…

-/\-

On the tenth day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Ten computers whirring

Nine pissed off cops

Eight rude reporters

Seven fast food joints

Six hotel beds

_Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles

Two Reid lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: Hm… a bit sappy, but I hope there was enough fluff to blind you to the fact that I basically resorted to recycling stories so I could work on another project… Anywho, Happy Holidays, once more! See you all tomorrow (Christmas Eve!)!


	11. Christmas Interrupted

12 Days

A/N: Yikes, this is late! Sorry, I didn't have time to write this today… though, it's still the 24th where I am, I apologize to the people whose Christmas Eve this totally missed… But I hope you all enjoyed your day and that you all enjoy this chapter!

Oh, this is about three years in the future, and for the purposes of this story, let's say that Jack and Henry are only roughly two years apart in age…

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, or _The Night Before Christmas_.

-/\-

Day 11: Christmas Interrupted

"Uncle Spence?" The small voice, in tandem with the tiny fist tugging on his sleeve, caught Reid's attention almost immediately.

He turned from his conversation with Garcia to find their mutual five-year-old godson pulling at his shirt and seven-year-old Jack standing next to the boy. "Hi, Henry." He smiled, long past being awkward around the child. "What did you need?"

"We want you to read the book, please." Henry replied, holding a thin picture book out to Reid with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

"Oh." Reid blinked in surprise and accepted the book. He glanced around at the other members of the team, all of whom were assembled for a holiday celebration, then back at the two little boys before him. "Did none of your parents want to read?" He asked curiously, turning the book over in his hands.

"We want _you_ to read." Henry repeated with a shake of his head.

"You read stories the best." Jack agreed.

Garcia chuckled from behind Reid. "Yeah, Uncle Spence, you read stories the best." She said with a grin.

Reid resisted the temptation to roll his eyes at her and then looked down at the book. _The Night Before Christmas_. "Alright…" He nodded. "I'll read you two the story."

"Us _three_." Garcia corrected him. "I want to hear, too. This is one of my favorites."

"Okay…" Reid said slowly, looking around for a place to sit. He gave up upon seeing all the chairs were full and settled for a spot on the floor by the tree.

Henry and Jack immediately took seats in front of him and waited for Garcia to do the same. The tech made a big show of settling her skirts and readjusting her Santa hat before sitting down next to Jack and sweeping him into her lap. The little boy squirmed for a moment before accepting the embrace he had rather become used to since Haley had died. Henry eyed the pair and momentarily looked as though he was going to demand to sit in Reid's lap (to be fair, of course) but JJ happened by at that moment. "Mommy!" Henry called after her. "We're going to read the night 'fore Christmas."

"You are?" JJ asked, smiling as she looked over the assembly on the floor and Reid gave a sheepish shrug.

"Yeah!" Henry nodded eagerly and scooted over slightly. "Come sit."

JJ smiled and obliged, settling cross-legged in front of Reid before pulling Henry into her lap. "Okay, Spence, fire away." She said, turning towards her friend.

"Er… alright…" Reid shook his head but held up the book and began to recite the poem.

" '_Twas the night before Christmas_

_When all through the house_

_Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…_"

"What's going on here?" Hotch asked as he walked by the group of agents and children sitting on the floor.

"Spencer's reading _The Night Before Christmas_." Jack explained, craning his neck to look up at his father. "You should listen! It's good."

Hotch smiled and sat down on the floor between Garcia, whose lap Jack was still sitting on, and JJ, then nodded at Reid. The genius nodded in return and kept reciting.

"_The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,_

_In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…_"

"I thought this was about _Santa_." Henry interrupted, looking slightly puzzled.

"It is." Reid replied, looking somewhat confused, himself.

"But you just said _St. Nicholas_. Not _Santa_." The little boy pointed out.

"Oh!" Realization dawned on the genius. "St. Nicholas is another name for Santa Clause. Actually, did you know that Santa was originally called…" Reid quickly stopped speaking when JJ shook her head at him. "Uh… well, St. Nick or St. Nicholas is just another name for Santa…" With that he continued the poem.

"_The children were nestled all snug in their beds,_

_While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads._

_And Mamma in her kerchief and I in my cap_

_Had just settled down for a long winter's nap…_"

Reid paused again when Jack began fidgeting. Finally, the boy stood up and moved to sit on his father's lap. Garcia looked torn between disappointment and adoration at the scene next to her. Jack nodded at Reid when he had settled again. "Okay, I'm ready." He said, sounding so serious even Reid grinned a little.

"Okay." Reid nodded in return, attempting to keep his face straight.

"_When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,_

_I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter._

_Away to the window I flew like a flash_

_Tore open the shutters, threw up the sash…_"

"What's sash?" Henry interrupted once more. "And why'd he throw it up?"

" 'Cause he ate too much of it." Jack told him as though it were obvious.

The three adults sitting before the storyteller shared a quick laugh and JJ explained before Reid had the chance to go into depth. "The sash is a part of the window. He's saying he pushed it up quickly."

Henry nodded, though he still looked confused and Reid took the opportunity to continue.

"_The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow_

_Gave the luster of midday to objects below._

_When what to my wandering eyes should appear,_

_But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer…_"

"Well, what's going on here?" Morgan cut in, looking down at the small group sitting on the floor.

"We're listening to _The Night Before Christmas_, and you're in luck. My little buddy just left me. Would you care to warm my lap?" Garcia asked, wiggling her eyebrows at the tall agent.

Hotch cleared his throat and nodded towards Jack and Henry, reminding the tech of the presence of small children. Garcia blushed and smiled sheepishly before looking back up at Morgan. "So, do you wanna listen, or what?"

"Sit on the floor and listen to Reid recite a Christmas poem?" Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow. When his colleagues nodded, he shrugged and sat down on the floor next to Garcia. "Why not?"

Reid simply sat for a moment, as if waiting for some other interruption, before he continued.

"_With a little old driver so lively and quick,_

_I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick…_"

"That's Santa, right?" Henry asked again.

As the others held back laughter, Reid bit back a sigh and nodded. "Yes, Henry, it's Santa." He replied, wondering if he would ever be able to get through the story.

-/\-

"_But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight:_

'_Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night'._"

Reid shut the book with a sigh, looking up at the assembled group before him. Before he'd been able to get all the way through the story, there had been pauses so Will, Emily and Rossi could join in, for Henry's many questions, and for Jack's comings and goings between people. Finally, it was over, though. Henry popped up off Will's lap, where he had switched to sitting halfway through the story, and ran up to Reid. "That was great!" He said enthusiastically, tossing his arms around his godfather's neck. "Thank you, Uncle Spence."

Hesitating for just a second, Reid returned the hug. So, the story had been difficult to get through. At least it was over with and he wouldn't have to do it again… "Will you read it again?" Henry asked.

Looking at the pleading expression on Henry's face, Reid knew he was done for. With a sigh, he nodded and opened the book again.

" '_Twas the night before Christmas,_

_When all through the house_

_Not a creature was stirring…_"

-/\-

On the eleventh day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Eleven murder victims

Ten computers whirring

Nine pissed-off cops

Eight rude reporters

Seven fast food joints

Six hotel beds

_Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss

Three Morgan tackles

Two Reid lectures

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: Ah, poor Reid… I know the feeling. And that question about the sash was something my sister and I always used to ask when we were little. I hope you enjoyed! Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas! I'll see you all tomorrow, I hope!


	12. Togetherness

12 Days

A/N: I am so sorry I missed the date! I got hit with some nasty Christmas cold and was so not feeling up to writing this… but I'm here now with the final installment of 12 Days! I hope you all had a good Christmas and that you enjoy this chapter!

Warning: Fluffy shmoop contained within. Also, hints of Hotch/Prentiss, Morgan/Garcia, and JJ/Reid… nothing terribly serious, though.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Including, but not limited to: Criminal Minds, the characters, or Christmas.

-/\-

Day 12: Togetherness

It really was something of a picture-perfect Christmas, Rossi reflected. The whole team, biologically related though they weren't, had gathered around the over-large dining table his second wife had insisted on purchasing and sat down to what he modestly dubbed an absolutely delicious dinner. He, Emily, Garcia and, surprisingly, Reid had worked all afternoon to make a turkey dinner with all the "fixin's" and when they were through, their labor had been absolutely worth it. There had been turkey, stuffing, gravy, various types of potatoes, rice, squash, green beans, several different pies and, really, more than enough to feed seven people.

After all the lazing about and conversation that had taken place while they all waited for the effects of such a large meal to wear off, everyone decided that, as it was getting late, it was time to head out. However, with all their cooking, eating and general merrymaking, they had failed to notice the snow piling up outside. It was just Hotch stood up to get his coat and be the first one out, the room went dark. There was a slight uproar, the loudest shout sounding suspiciously like Reid, and then all was silent. "What just happened?" Emily's voice came through the thick darkness.

"I believe the power went out." Reid's voice answered.

"I'm aware of that. I meant _why_." Emily snipped.

Ignoring Reid's protest of "then you should have said so," Rossi spoke this time. "The power in this area isn't the most up-to-date. The weather probably knocked it out." He said.

"If it's just this area, we should all get going. Dave, I can put you up until the power comes back on." Hotch's voice came from somewhere in the room.

"Thanks." Rossi replied, then cursed the fact they had been in an interior room when the power went out. "Can anyone find their way out of here without killing themselves on the furniture? There's a window in the next room."

There was a beat of silence before the sound of shuffling filled the void. After a minute or so, the sound of a door handle clicking joined the shuffling and a square of light appeared where the doorway was, revealing Reid still holding the knob. "Man, how'd you do that so fast?" Morgan, who was next closest to the door, asked with a barely-visible shake of his head.

The glowy outline of Reid raised a hand and tapped his temple. "Eidetic memory- I remember where all the furniture is."

Morgan could be seen shaking his head again but flashing a luminous smile as he moved through the doorway. He was followed closely by Hotch and Garcia, then Rossi. There was a distinctly feminine hiss of pain as either JJ or Prentiss thudded into an invisible piece of furniture, then both women left the room, followed by Reid.

The next room over was, conveniently, connected to the entryway and Hotch was the first to make it to the front door, which emitted little squares of snow-reflected light. He opened it up and squinted out into the whiteness, then shut it again with a shake of his head. "I doubt any of us can drive in that. I can barely see a few feet from the door."

Disappointment was palpable in the silence before Rossi spoke again. "Reid, you used the bathroom, didn't you?"

"What?" Reid asked incredulously.

"You went down the hall to use the bathroom, right?" Rossi repeated.

"Yes… why?" The genius' uncertainty was clear in the question.

"There's a closet a few feet past the bathroom. I keep some flashlights and a battery-operated radio in there. Think you get down the hall without running into anything?"

"Oh. I think so, yes." With that, the man headed out and down the hall.

"Preparing for every eventuality, huh?" Emily asked in a slightly teasing tone.

Rossi shrugged, though it was barely visible. "Obviously, it paid off."

A few minutes later after stifling laughter at the sound of Reid cursing the table he'd run into, the team saw the return of their youngest, baring four flashlights and a radio. He placed them all on the table and stepped back, discretely rubbing at a spot on his thigh.

The radio was swooped in on immediately and switched on. It was already tuned into the local news station. From what they could gather after coming in halfway through the newscaster's report, their fears were confirmed; the power was out, the roads were out, and they were all stuck in Rossi's rapidly cooling house.

It didn't take long for them to decide on a course of action, as they were, after all, a close-knit team of FBI agents. Garcia insisted that, after years of forced camping trips with her brothers, she would be able to light a fire in the grate better than any of the others and set to work with Hotch's assistance. Morgan and Rossi took a flashlight and went to raid Rossi's stock of firewood. JJ went about the room, flicking off light switches so they wouldn't be blinded if the lights came back on in the night. She left the tree plugged in, however, so they'd have an indicator of power if and when it returned. Reid and Emily were dispatched back down the dark hallway, with a flashlight this time, to retrieve blankets and pillows. The plan was to make Rossi's living room warm and comfortable until either the power came on or the roads cleared.

Soon after they'd all returned to base, Garcia and Hotch had a fire roaring in the grate and the seven agents huddled unashamedly around it. Odd nests were constructed out of the bedding and it wasn't long before everyone was dropping off to sleep.

A few hours later, Rossi found himself forced into wakefulness by the chill that was seeping into his skin. Sitting up and shaking his head to clear it slightly, he found that the fire had died down quite a bit and that he had also managed to push off his blankets while he was asleep. Sitting up, he rubbed his stiff neck and attempted to shake the stiffness out of the rest of his limbs as well. He stared longingly at the couch for a moment, he most definitely did not like the thought of spending the rest of the night on the floor, but the couch was too far from the fire for his liking.

Speaking of the fire, it required stoking. He picked his way across the room, managing not to step on any of his teammates despite the lack of light, and kneeled in front of the fireplace. He added a couple more logs, careful not to smother what little flame was left, and moved things about with the poker until the new logs caught fire. Just as he placed the poker back in its place, satisfied with his work, the tree suddenly lit up, almost making the man jump. A moment later, he heard the heater roar to life in the basement. "Typical." Rossi huffed with a laugh, shaking his head.

He glanced up at the tree and then turned around to look at his coworkers, wondering if any of them had been disturbed by the sudden source of light. What he saw almost made him laugh again. He definitely couldn't help the knowing smirk that graced his lips.

In the night, it seemed the members of the team had paired off and- to stave off the cold, Rossi was sure- snuggled up together.

Farthest right of the group of sleeping profilers laid JJ and Reid. Reid was laying full-out on the floor, his blanket covering most of him and half of JJ with his mismatched-sock-feet sticking out at the end. JJ was curled beneath both her and Reid's blankets and seemed to have decided that Reid made a good mattress, as most of her upper half was on him and not the floor. Reid didn't seem to mind much, however, judging by the way his arm draped over her shoulders.

Next over, in the middle, Morgan and Garcia were absolutely curled around each other. Rossi couldn't tell just how many blankets or pillows the couple had incorporated into their bizarre next but they looked the warmest and most comfortable out of everyone in the room. It was impossible to tell what, exactly, they were doing with their legs, but Garcia was snuggled into Morgan's side, her face buried in the crook of his neck with one of her arms draped across his chest, and both of Morgan's arms were around her waist.

To the far left, Hotch and Emily seemed to have built a wall of pillows against the coffee table and were sleeping braced against it. Hotch didn't look entirely comfortable slouched on the pillows Emily looked content with her head resting on his shoulder. Sometime in the night, the blankets had slipped down from around their shoulders and were now only up to their waists, revealing how Hotch's arm had somehow come around Emily's back and how his hand was curled slightly around her wrist.

Shaking his head, still smiling to himself, Rossi couldn't help but wonder at the likelihood of the six of them coming together on the same night. Reid could probably give him figures if he asked, but really, for once, Rossi wanted to simply take it at face value. As far as he was concerned, it could be called Christmas magic. It really was rather Christmassy, after all, in the room bathed in the glow of firelight and light reflected from the snow.

They were welcome to each other, Rossi decided as he stood up and moved back to where he'd been sleeping. The heat was back on and that meant he could have the couch to himself without freezing. He moved his blankets and pillows to the sofa and stretched out, relishing in the soft surface. He turned to face the scene before him, his eyes already starting to droop again. It really was almost picture-perfect, he thought, the three couples snuggled together in front of the fire, illuminated by the Christmas tree in the corner while snow fell outside the window. Rossi only hoped he woke up in time to see the startled looks on their faces when they woke up in each other's arms- now _that_ would be a nice Christmas gift.

-/\-

_Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful._

_~Norman Vincent Peale_

-/\-

On the twelfth day of Christmas, the new case gave to me:

Twelve Garcia greetings,

Eleven murder victims,

Ten computers whirring,

Nine pissed-off cops,

Eight rude reporters,

Seven fast food joints,

Six hotel beds,

_Five cups of coffee!_ (apiece)

Four calls from Strauss,

Three Morgan tackles,

Two Reid lectures,

And a psycho on a killing spree!

-/\-

A/N: Hm… perhaps not altogether related to Christmas, but it was fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you so much, in fact, to everyone who has followed this story for the past two weeks, I hope it brought you a little holiday cheer, or at least some smiles!

Thank you, Merry (late) Christmas and Happy (early) New Year!


End file.
